By Meg Kennedy<\/p>\n
A Ballan op-shop is close to becoming a dumping ground for hard rubbish \u2013 and its local volunteers are paying the price.
\nThe Ballan Lionesss Club Steptoes Op-Shop has reported an increase of rubbish dumping; with broken toys, furniture and soiled clothing just some of the unwanted items that are not only taking up space but costing money and time to sort through and dispose of.
\nSteptoes Op-Shop volunteer Ian Erwin said the problem has become quite costly.
\n\u201c[We receive] a lot of broken toys, and toys take up a lot of volume. When we take it to the tip, we\u2019re paying by the volume, so the broken toys are useless,\u201d he said.
\nAccording to Moorabool Shire Council\u2019s website, drop-offs to Ballan Transfer Station of chargeable items – such as domestic and hard waste – can range anywhere from $30 up to $110 for residents, depending on trailer size.
\nMr Erwin said the dumping problem severely increases after Christmas time, with unwanted and broken toys discarded to the shop.
\n\u201cAt the moment I\u2019ve got probably eight woolpacks there of rubbish, that\u2019s been since Christmas. That\u2019s all now go to go in the tip,\u201d he said.
\n\u201c\u2026It starts when school breaks up, kids are told to clean their rooms up\u2026yet it\u2019s when the rubbish comes in that it all gets ahead of us.\u201d
\nBut it could be a mix of Ballan\u2019s lack of hard rubbish collection and population boom that makes part of the problem.
\n\u201cIn the 40 years that I\u2019ve been here, Ballan\u2019s never had a hard rubbish day. Some people that have moved into this area miss that, and they say, \u2018What do we do with the rubbish?\u2019, said Mr Erwin.
\nAlthough they\u2019re currently swarmed with unusable items, Mr Erwin said the op-shop is still \u201chappy to accept\u201d second-hand items that are clean and safe to move on.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll take all clothes as long as their clean. They don\u2019t have to be in good condition, because we can recycle clean and worn clothes. But if they do appear rotten\u2026or they\u2019re wet and smelly, we can\u2019t do anything.
\n\u201cEverything that\u2019s safe and able to be used, we accept. But we are limited for space, so we can\u2019t put everything away at times. If they leave [the items] for us when we\u2019re here, it\u2019s even easier because we\u2019re only here two days a week.\u201d
\n\u201cIf people are happy to bring it in, we\u2019ll take it if it\u2019s in good condition.\u201d
\nMoorabool Shire Council was contacted for comment on whether it had considered a hard rubbish collection, or if there could be incentives for not-for-profit stores to use the transfer station at a cheaper price. Council had not responded in time for publication.
\nThe Ballan Lioness Club Steptoes Op-Shop operates on Fridays and Saturdays between 9.30am-3pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Meg Kennedy A Ballan op-shop is close to becoming a dumping ground for hard rubbish \u2013 and its local volunteers are paying the price. The Ballan Lionesss Club Steptoes Op-Shop has reported an increase of rubbish dumping; with broken toys, furniture and soiled clothing just some of the unwanted items that are not only […]<\/p>\n